International Projects in Uganda, Africa

Janna Van Nest—one of our members—has built a relationship with the people of five villages in Uganda over many years. Altrusa of the Eastern Sierra has provided support in a number of projects in these villages. In November 2015, Janna and fellow Altrusan Sarah Sheehan—who sponsors a child in one of the villages—traveled again to Uganda to visit the families and bring supplies and encouragement.

Feeding the Hungry: Altrusa has paid for donated seeds from local stores to be shipped to Uganda.

Vegetables – From Garden to Marketplace: These village women now sell their vegetables in the marketplace and have found a way to generate income for their group.

Sewing Machines: Altrusa purchased two sewing machines for the disabled group, and they have made clothes from donated material. They have also received contracts to make school uniforms. Thanks to Altrusa, they have learned to generate funds and make a difference in their lives.

Teaching the women to make blankets: Material donated from Bishop helps many women learn how to make blankets.

Making Houses: Thanks to the generosity of Altrusa, life in Uganda is different. Altrusa purchased the forms, which make bricks for the houses. As of November 2016, the fifth house was just completed.

New Homes: The first picture is of the typical home, but now they are learning how to build a home which will stand up to rainy weather. The second photo shows the first home built. The home in the third photo is looking more modern. They have learned to barter for windows. A helping hand, not a handout.

Looking Forward: As a future project, Altrusa will be raising money to provide a much needed well for a new school near Jinja, Uganda.

Donation info can be found here. If you would like your donation to go toward our projects in the Ugandan villages, please put “Uganda” in the memo field.

You can also help by donating items the villages need:
—Gently worn children & women’s shoes-no flip flops
—Gently worn, DARK colored, cotton children’s clothes
—Dark colored cotton dresses with sleeves; especially some large size
—Dark colored cotton men’s clothes
—Baby blankets
—Scarves-women and girls wrap their heads
—DARK colored 1 ½ yard lengths of cotton fabric
—Garlic presses, vegetable peelers, wooden spoons
—Large fish hooks, used pocket knives
—Old fashioned pencil sharpener (there is little electricity)
—Laptop computer
—Pencils, games, educational materials
—Vegetable seeds

We specifically ask for dark colored cotton as water is limited and therefore laundry is not done on a daily basis. Also, we have a 50-lb limit per box of what we can take with us, so we have to limit what we take to the above items.

Questions: Please contact Sarah Sheehan at 760-872-4039 or scsheehan1@gmail.com or Janna Van Nest at 760-873-5073 or janna.vannest@gmail.com